Course Programme
Daily sessions (4.30-5.30pm) using Zoom
Please plan to arrive online shortly before the session is due to begin.
Friday 12 June: Overview and outline; historiography and the idea of a ‘revolution’. Renaissance background: the collapse of the classical hegemony of Aristotelian science, more or less radical alternatives, and the surprising unimportance of astronomy and cosmology.
Saturday 13 June: Copernicus and Kepler and Renaissance causation. Alchemy and the occult, and Renaissance causation. The ambition of “engineering".
Sunday 14 June: An “engineer” in Padua turns his spyglass towards the heavens..
Monday 15 June: Galileo and the triumph of the new science of mathematical mechanics (or maybe not), and Galileo as the father of the experimental method (definitely not). Who was reading Galileo? Galileo and the Church (myths debunked).
Tuesday 16 June: Descartes: at last! A new natural philosophy based on mechanics. A pity it doesn’t work, however.
Wednesday 17 June: The mechanical philosophy: failure … but promise. Failed innovations in chemistry. Changing social context of the practicing ‘scientists’. Journals, institutions, communities.
Thursday 18 June: Newton: a new physics, but at the most terrible cost. Newtonianism going forward: experimental physics and mathematical physics
Additional requirements
ICE is committed to providing equality of opportunity and to a proactive and inclusive approach to equality. We aim to support and encourage under-represented groups, promote an inclusive culture, and value diversity.
Further information about student support.
Course materials
A book list, course syllabus and detailed timetable are circulated as far as possible in advance of a course. You will receive these documents by email if you have provided us with your email address; please check your spam folder if you have not received these documents.
You can also download material from the Documents section at the bottom of this page.
